


in abstracto

by thunderylee



Category: Kanjani8 (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Romance, spawn, transgender tegoshi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-25
Updated: 2012-06-25
Packaged: 2019-01-21 10:37:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12455820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: A picture can say a thousand words, but a song can paint a manga of panels.





	in abstracto

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck. written for je_otherworlds 2012.

“Looks like an I-D-10-T error,” Ryo says seriously as he rolls out from under the desk, holding a gray USB cable.

Yamapi blinks down at him, tilting his head at the cord. “What’s that?”

“The  _printer cable_ ,” Ryo informs him, narrowing his eyes. “Which is required for the printer to, you know,  _work_.”

“Now, Ryo-chan,” Yamapi says slowly, rolling his desk chair over to where Ryo’s ass is sticking out. “Is that any way to talk to your boss?”

“It is when your boss is a fucking idiot,” Ryo grumbles. “By the way, that’s what I-D-10-T stands for –  _idiot_. We’ve worked together for years, and you can’t even tell when I’m insulting you.”

“It’s only an insult if I feel insulted,” Yamapi points out, then smacks Ryo on the ass before spinning around in the chair. “Isn’t all of that stuff wireless now, anyway? This is the 21st century.”

Ryo just rolls his eyes. Sexual harassment wasn’t worth raising a fuss over when you work for your best friend. He’s just happy Yamapi doesn’t grope him anymore. “Where do you think you work?” is all he says. “This is a secondhand computer repair shop. The only things actually made in the 21st century here are our cell phones.”

“That’s not true!” Yamapi refutes. “We just got a bunch of new systems in last week. Some stuffy law firm downtown upgraded their computers and gave us the old ones.  _Free_!”

“I know that, moron,” Ryo says exasperatedly as he dusts off his knees and stands up. “I reconfigured all of them, remember? They’re so old that they still have modems.”

“What’s a modem?” Yamapi asks, and Ryo closes his eyes and counts to ten.

Right at ‘ten’, the door chime dings and Yamapi’s face lights up. Normally Ryo doesn’t have to deal with customers (who are sometimes bigger idiots than his boss), but Jin had to take his grotesquely pregnant wife to an appointment and Yamapi’s not allowed to leave the back room. Yamapi’s not even allowed to answer the  _phone_ , and he is certainly prohibited from touching anything that is not his own computer. For someone who owns his own I.T. business, he sure is technologically challenged.

“Yo,” Ryo greets the customer, forcing a smile because even though I.T. guys are known to be dicks, he still wants to make a sale. “I’m Nishikido. Can I help you find something?”

The first thing Ryo notices about this man is that he doesn’t look out of place. Ryo spends a lot of his time judging people, so he’s confident in his technological assessment of his customers based on how comfortable they appear in the store. Being as a majority of their clientele are the elderly and cheapskates who don’t want to pay for a newer system, Ryo’s assumptions are usually spot on.

The second thing he notices is that this customer has a really nice ass.

“Yeah, I want something that just runs games and, like, word processing software,” the man says, and the fact that he knows what ‘software’ is already makes him smarter than Yamapi.

“For a child?” Ryo guesses.

Now the guy looks antsy, but he just nods. “Yeah. A six-year-old girl.”

“Internet capabilities?” Ryo offers.

The customer sighs. “Her mother tells me that it would be good for her to look up information, but I think she’s too young for it. There are other ways to get information than from Google, you know.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Ryo grumbles. “We actually had to go the library and photocopy encyclopedias when I was in school.”

A scoff. “I work at a library, and let me assure you, I dust the encyclopedias more than any other section.”

Ryo laughs. “How about Internet access with strict parental controls?”

“Sure, whatever.” The guy flashes a smile, and Ryo feels a little like he’s been knocked backwards. It’s a really bright smile. “Just give me the cheapest you’ve got that does what I want. You offer a warranty?”

“Yup,” Ryo replies, leaning over the counter to grab the sales forms. “We offer a maintenance plan, too.”

“That’s fine.” The customer starts filling out the form, and Ryo learns that his name is Kato. “Can you install it on Saturday?”

Ryo cocks his head. “It’s not that hard to set up a computer. There’s a chart that tells you where everything goes -”

“I can’t be bothered with it,” Kato says firmly. “I’ll pay you extra.”

“Sure, okay.” Ryo takes back the form and checks some boxes, then goes over the order with Kato again. As he processes the payment, he asks, “Any particular time you’d like me to be there?”

“Afternoon,” Kato answers briskly. “Just call first.”

“Sounds good,” Ryo tells him. “Thank you for your business.”

“No, thank you,” Kato says politely, flashing another smile before he swiftly turns on his heel and exits the store.

Almost immediately, Yamapi’s hopping the counter to stare after him, slinging an arm around Ryo’s shoulders. “Since when do you do weekend installations?”

“Since I’m free,” Ryo mutters. “Mind your own.”

“Now, don’t be a homewrecker, Ryo-chan,” Yamapi teases, following Ryo all the way into the back of the store where he scours the racks of crap for parts. “I specifically heard him talk about a mother and child.”

“There’s no wedding ring,” Ryo reports. “Give me some credit, please – that was the  _first_  thing I looked for.”

“After checking out his ass,” Yamapi adds knowingly, and Ryo doesn’t argue. “Have fun on your  _date_  on Saturday.”

Ryo just sighs, glad Jin isn’t here. If he were, Ryo would probably be subjected to some dumb dirty pun about input and output. As it is, he ignores Yamapi’s babbling and starts putting together a system for Kato’s daughter, using the best of the crap despite charging him for less.

He really did have a nice ass.

*

It’s almost noon when Ryo rolls out of bed on Saturday, which is early for him. Being a true computer geek at heart, his Friday nights are spent in front of his own computer, arguing on the Internet and making unsuspecting plebes cry. Yamapi thinks he’s heartless, but Ryo claims it’s harmless since it’s all anonymous anyway. In Ryo’s opinion, you shouldn’t expose yourself in a public forum unless you can handle being mocked. Being sensitive on the Internet is like walking into a wolf cave wearing Lady Gaga’s meat dress.

Coffee is his lifeblood and he drags himself into the shower, one arm hanging outside the curtain to smoke because that’s the only way he can get away with it in the apartment. Ryo may be attracted to guys, but his roommate is the combination of every gay stereotype on the market and bitches about every single thing Ryo does. Ryo’s known him forever, though, so he can’t hate the guy. And Ohkura doesn’t make him pay rent.

The lady of the house happens to be in the kitchen, rocking pink curlers and reading  _O_  magazine when Ryo stumbles in. “What’s for breakfast?” he mumbles.

“Do I look like your wife?” Ohkura replies calmly, flipping the page. “Why are you even awake? You usually keep vampire hours on the weekends.”

“Got a call today,” Ryo says as he drapes himself over the refrigerator door. “Nice ass.”

A nail file hits him right on the side of the head. “That’s great, now stop letting out all of the cold air.”

“Can’t you just make me something?” Ryo whines. “I could really go for one of your  _amazing_  omelettes.”

“You know, you demand a lot for someone who doesn’t put out,” Ohkura comments, but he shoves Ryo out of the way to get into the fridge. “Go get dressed.”

Ryo looks down at his T-shirt and jeans. “I am dressed.”

“Not for Mr. Nice Ass, you’re not,” Ohkura says firmly. “At least wear the jeans that showcase your junk.”

“Those have  _rhinestones_  on them,” Ryo argues. “I may as well wear a big sequined sign that says ‘hi, I like to take it in the ass’.”

“Saves unnecessary conversation,” Ohkura points out, and Ryo rolls his eyes. “Please get out of my kitchen.”

Ryo returns to his closet and stares at the racks of clothes. He’s probably the only gay man in Japan who doesn’t give a shit about fashion. Yamapi’s only half gay and he still gets hard-ons over certain designers. Ryo couldn’t tell you who makes what, just what size he wears and what colors look good with his skin tone. And that’s  _colors_ , not patterns or sparkles or God forbid those fucking rainbows. The only reason he even owns a pair of rhinestone-studded jeans is because Ohkura won’t be seen in public with him in anything else he has. So Ryo’s junk is only appreciated at the grocery store and that one time he let Ohkura take him clubbing (never again).

An hour later, he’s reluctantly shoved into a sleeveless mesh shirt and on his way to Kato’s neighborhood. He feels like he should be in a gay porno in this shirt; now that he thinks about it, there  _is_  one that starts off with “I’m here to install your hardware.”

Shaking away the traumatic memories (which Jin still likes to bring up, because he’s a dick), Ryo takes in the scenery and passes more judgments. Middle-class neighborhood, single family houses, probably owns his own property. As he approaches the address on Kato’s sales form, he notices a snobby-looking car in the driveway and resigns himself to rejection. Mr. Nice Ass is totally out of his league.

He lugs the tower up to the front door, balancing it on his hip while he rings the doorbell. Instantly there’s a loud crash and a scream from inside, and Ryo’s torn between continuing to wait and bursting inside to make sure no one had  _died_  when the door flings open and Kato glares at him with angry eyebrows and paint all over his face.

“Um,” Ryo says eloquently. “I’m here to install your hardware.”

“I told you to call first!” Kato roars, and Ryo shifts the tower to his other hip. This thing is fucking heavy. “There is a  _reason_  I told you to call first.”

“I texted you,” Ryo says calmly. “I don’t do phone calls.”

Kato sighs. “The number I gave you is a land line. It doesn’t accept text messages.”

“People still have those?” Ryo asks incredulously, and Kato gives him an unimpressed look. “Okay, I’m sorry, but I’m here now. I can wait outside if you need to get the area ready.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kato grumbles, shuffling to the side to let Ryo into his house. “I just don’t like to be interrupted when I work.”

Ryo thinks about how he wants to stick a screwdriver into Yamapi’s throat every time his boss bothers him when he’s building a computer and nods. “I understand. My bad.”

He follows Kato through the normal-sized living room with boring furniture that all matches (leaning in favor of gaydom) and down the hallway into a bedroom with a tarp over most of the floor and paint splattered everywhere. The walls are sponged sky blue with a cloud trim, and there are a few rainbows and unicorns riding the clouds. Ryo looks for stencils and doesn’t see any, just a paint pallet that had clearly flown out of Kato’s hand when the doorbell startled him.

“You can put it over there,” Kato says, pointing to what had originally been a small white desk. It now had random blobs of colors on the surface, and Kato frowns at them. “You may want to wait a few minutes while this dries.”

“It’s cool, I can put it somewhere else for now,” Ryo tells him as he pulls the tarp away from the wall enough to set the tower straight on the floor. “I have the rest of it in the car, so I’ll be right back.”

Footsteps follow him back outside, and Ryo feels Kato’s eyes watching him as he retrieves the monitor and a box of components (keyboard, mouse, speakers) from his car. When he returns, Kato looks apologetic.

“Hey, sorry I blew up,” he says sheepishly, relieving Ryo of the monitor. It’s a really nice gesture since it’s one of the ancient tube ones and heavier than the tower had been. “I get kind of crazy when I paint.”

“It was my fault for not calling properly,” Ryo dismisses, and he can already hear Yamapi mocking him for behaving like a proper employee. “For what it’s worth, though, you’re really good. Those unicorns are really detailed.”

“Ah, thanks,” Kato says, and Ryo catches a hint of pink on his cheeks. “I’m no professional, but it’s something I used to really love to do. Where should I put this?”

“On the chair.” Ryo crawls under the desk to plug in cables. “So I take it your daughter isn’t here yet?”

Kato doesn’t answer him right away, and Ryo fears he’s trudged on a sensitive topic until Kato finally speaks. “She arrives tomorrow. I had intended to have everything ready before now, but life doesn’t always work out the way we want.”

“Tell me about it,” Ryo replies. “I wanted to be a rock star, and instead I build computers for a living.”

“There’s a lot of money to be made in I.T.,” Kato says conversationally. “You only make money as a rock star if you make it big.”

“I’m not good enough to make it big,” Ryo tells him. “The kind of music I write isn’t popular with the kids these days. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong generation.”

Kato laughs. “My best friend is constantly telling me I act older than I am. Add to that the fact that I’m a librarian, and people automatically assume that I’m at least thirty.”

“How old are you?” Ryo asks casually.

“Twenty-four.”

 _That_  shocks him. He almost bangs his head on the bottom of the desk as he rolls out enough to stare at Kato’s worried face. “Seriously? You’re that much younger than me?”

“You too?” Kato frowns, which makes him look even older. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven,” Ryo replies. “Wow.”

“I was fresh out of high school when my daughter was born,” Kato tells him. “I wasn’t even dating her mother, but you know how these things happen. They live back home in Osaka, so I went to see her when I could, but now that her mom is remarried she wants to come live with me. I guess she doesn’t like her new stepfather very much.”

Ryo grins as he pushes the big glowing button on the tower and the computer whirs to life. “You’re Osakan too?”

“Well, sort of,” Kato replies. “It’s complicated, but I was born there and still consider it my home even though I haven’t actually lived there since I was Mika-chan’s age. I don’t even know any Kansai-ben.” He laughs. “Shiori and I initially bonded on being Osakans living in Tokyo.”

“I was born and raised there,” Ryo offers. “Your daughter’s name is Mika? That’s pretty.”

“Thanks.” Kato reaches into his wallet and flips it open, showing Ryo a picture of a bubbly pigtailed girl with his eyes. “She’s a pretty girl.”

“Yes she is.” The computer is all booted up now, and Ryo remains on the floor with the keyboard in his lap. “Let me show you where the programs are, and then we can go over how parental controls work.”

Ryo does his job for the next half hour, answering Kato’s questions that are not at all idiotic and trying not to swoon too much when Kato kneels next to him to see the screen better. He may be wearing overalls with paint in his hair, but his eyes are attentive and Ryo finds people who actually listen to what he has to say a huge turn-on. Also, he smells nice.

“Thank you so much,” Kato tells him, and Ryo realizes his appointment is wrapping up. “I’ll be sure to call your office if I have any problems.”

“Good luck with your daughter,” Ryo says as he stands up and awkwardly shoves his hands into his pockets. “And hey…”

Kato looks at him expectantly from the doorway. “Yeah?”

“It’s nothing,” Ryo says in a rushed voice. “Just… if you ever wanted to hear my songs, I basically get the whole evening at Zoubuta on Saturday nights. It’s open mic night, but no one else offers to perform.”

“Zoubuta?” Kato repeats. “Never heard of it.”

“It’s next door to the shop where I work,” Ryo tells him. “Small pub, out of the way. The owners are a little eccentric, but the prices are decent.”

“Cool, thanks for the invitation.” Kato smiles and it takes ten years off of his life. “As you can see, I still have a lot of work to do here, but maybe I’ll stop by next week.”

“You look younger when you smile,” Ryo blurts out, ducking out before Kato can read the obvious look on his face. “Thanks again for your business! Please call if you require anything else.”

Once in his car, Ryo resists the urge to bang his head on the steering wheel, but only because Kato’s waving at him from the front door. He drives home berating himself for not giving this job to Jin, because it was much easier when Kato was just Mr. Nice Ass.

Now he’s Mr. Nice Smile, and thinking about it makes Ryo feel like a total mess.

*

“Ryo-cha~n, you’re going to give yourself wrinkles if you frown like that.”

Ryo lifts his head to glare at the pout on the bartender’s shiny lips, which would be much more effective if she had been assigned female at birth. “You sing tonight, Yuuko-san. I don’t feel like it.”

“Can I?” Yuuko asks excitedly, clapping her hands together until she looks at the other patrons. “But who will make the drinks?”

Ryo glances over to where Yamapi’s already leaning over the bar, mixing himself a whiskey and Coke. “We’ll just keep doing it ourselves,” Ryo says pointedly. “Honestly, Yuuko-san, I have no idea how you get any business.”

“It’s because I’m so pretty,” Yuuko tells them, flipping her platinum blonde hair (all real) over her shoulder. “Keeps you two coming back, doesn’t it?”

“Sorry, babe,” Yamapi says with a wink as he brings his glass to his lips. “I like my girls dickless.”

Ryo cringes when Yuuko hisses at them like a cat and then disappears into the kitchen with the cook. “Mas~su,” she’s whining, and Ryo tunes out the rest. He doesn’t really want to know the extent of those two’s relationship.

“What’s got you so depressed, anyway?” Yamapi asks, grabbing the bottle of Jack to give Ryo a refill. “Did your date not go well?”

“I don’t even know,” Ryo replies, throwing back the whole glass. “He’s probably not even gay. He has a daughter.”

“But he never married the mother, right?” Yamapi prods. “Totally a nudge down the gay way. Every straight man in Japan would marry someone they knocked up. Look at Jin.”

Ryo rolls his eyes. “Jin isn’t exactly the poster child for heterosexuality, Pi.”

“You get what I’m saying, though.” Yamapi reaches for the bottle of Jäger and elbows the old man next to him to grab two shot glasses from the dish rack. “Come on, let’s take a shot, and then you get your ass up there and sing your angsty ballads.”

“They’re not all angsty,” Ryo mumbles, but he accepts the shot. “Fire in the hole.”

It burns so good, and Ryo’s tipsy enough to smile fondly as Yuuko starts crooning her overripe love songs. She interrupts herself to greet new customers and Ryo glances up in interest, nearly falling off of his stool when he sees Kato with a tall man in a business suit.

Yamapi must have noticed the commotion, because instantly his hand is on Ryo’s shoulder. “Oh, shit.”

“Nishikido-san!” Kato exclaims, grabbing the other man’s arm and dragging him over to the bar. “I finished early after all, so I thought we’d come check this place out.”

“We,” Ryo mutters under his breath, but raises his voice to ask, “The room is all ready, then?”

“Mika-chan’s going to  _love_  it,” Kato’s companion fawns, and Ryo doesn’t need any kind of hint to know that this one plays for his team. “Those unicorns practically prance on their own.”

“Oh, this is Koyama,” Kato says, and Ryo decidedly stops staring. “He’s my best friend. I think I mentioned him earlier.”

Ryo perks up at the word ‘friend’ and greets Koyama in much better spirits. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Yamashita,” Yamapi calls out from behind him. “Ryo-chan’s boss  _and_  best friend.”

Koyama and Yamapi greet each other while Kato sweeps his eyes towards the stage. “Who is that?”

“Yuuko-san,” Yamapi answers before Ryo can think of a delicate way to put it. “This is her place.”

“She’s  _gorgeous_ ,” Koyama breathes, and Ryo can’t tell whether he’d completely missed the mark or hit it dead on.

“Yeah, well, she-” Yamapi starts, but Ryo elbows him and Yamapi stalls by clearing his throat. “She’s quite a lady.”

“Mm,” says Kato noncommittally, sliding into the seat next to Ryo. Koyama takes the seat on the other side of Kato, eyes still locked on Yuuko as she finishes her song. “I thought you were performing tonight?”

“I didn’t feel like it,” Ryo tells him, trying not to slur. “But now I do.”

“Anything to eat?” a deep voice asks from behind the bar, and Ryo looks up to see Massu the cook light up the dim room in his lime-green hoodie and bright pink shutter shades. “Grill’s closing soon.”

“I’m actually starving,” Kato says, glancing towards Ryo. “What’s good here?”

“Everything,” Massu answers flatly. “I make it, so it’s all delicious.”

“Buta’s specialty is gyoza,” Ryo says, and Massu beams.

“I’ll have that, then,” Kato says, smiling again, and Ryo feels something warm in his belly that isn’t from the alcohol.

“Oh, I get it!” Koyama exclaims suddenly. “He’s the buta, and she’s the zou! What’s elephant-like about Yuuko-san, though?”

Massu just grins like he knows a secret, and Ryo wishes he didn’t have a good idea what it was. Then Yuuko hits her last note, a long, drawn out one that has Koyama shuddering in his seat, and blows a kiss right between Ryo and Kato. Massu catches it with his hand, winks, and returns to the kitchen.

“Oh, I bet they’re together,” Koyama says sadly. “What a shame.”

“No one really knows what’s going on with them,” Ryo tells him, trying to sound hopeful.

“And no one wants to,” Yamapi adds.

“Ryo-cha~n!” Yuuko calls into the microphone. “Come sing while I work.”

Ryo sincerely doubts there will be any actual working, but he slides off of his stool anyway. His guitar is already on the stage, and it only takes him a few seconds to tune up and block the rest of the bar out of his mind. He strums the beginning notes to one of his favorite songs and the words just pour out, vocals he doesn’t even have to think about because they come from his heart, and as always he thinks he’s imagining the roar of applause when it’s over.

But in the midst of it, he can hear Kato’s voice cheering, and he smiles.

*

“I can’t believe how much of a wiener you are,” Jin says as he pulls the jumpers from a motherboard. “He showed up at your gig, gushed over how awesome you are, and you still didn’t make a move?”

“Your boss has a big mouth,” Ryo grumbles from where he’s playing an intense game of solitaire. “This is none of your concern, married boy.”

“And  _you’re_  going to be forever alone if you don’t grow some balls and go after what you want!” Jin exclaims. “Isn’t that why you work in this shithole and aren’t trying to get signed as a recording artist?”

“Hey.” Yamapi pokes his head out of the office. “My shop is not a shithole.”

“Missing the point,” Jin says pointedly, then turns back to Ryo. “You better hope I never find out who he is, because I  _will_  hook this up for you. Pi says he has a really nice ass.”

Just then the phone rings, and they both share a look as they scramble for it.

“That’s my boys, fighting over new business!” Yamapi declares, then laughs to himself as he spins around in his chair.

Jin wins, but it looks to be just a regular client call, so Ryo returns to his solitaire. He tunes out Jin’s gangster rap until the phone rings again, and again, and Ryo glares at where Jin’s making the CPU smoke from overclocking as he reaches over for it.

“Grow up,” he hisses before he picks up the receiver. “3-Pi Computer Sales and Repair, this is Nishikido.”

“Nishikido-san,” that voice sounds on the other end of the line. “It’s Kato.”

“Kato-san,” Ryo repeats, trying not to sound too surprised, and Yamapi falls out of his office to eavesdrop. Ryo knows that he and Jin are having a heated silent conversation with a lot of unnecessary gesturing behind his back, but they’re not important right now. “Is there something wrong with the computer?”

“No, it’s great,” Kato replies. “Mika-chan loves it, though she’s not happy about the parental controls.” He laughs, and Ryo can’t help but smile. “Kids these days, huh? Anyway, she wants to print out her homework and pictures, so I thought I would see if you have any printers.”

“I-I do have printers,” Ryo says, kicking the chair next to his when he hears Jin snickering. “Did you want color or black and white?”

“Color please.” Kato covers the phone and hisses something to someone (probably his daughter, Ryo thinks), then returns. “I can’t make it down there tonight, so is there any way you could bring it over? I know it’s short notice, but Mika-chan wanted to take a picture to school tomorrow. I can pay over the phone, if that’s all right.”

“Sure, no problem.” Ryo slides over to the inventory computer and rattles off some prices. “Which one would you like?”

“Whichever you think is best,” Kato answers. “I’ll need some ink, too.”

Ryo grabs a sales form. “Of course.”

After the transaction is complete, Ryo turns around to see Yamapi and Jin grinning at him. “Go jet your ink all  _over_  his paper, Ryo-chan,” Jin says, waggling his eyebrows.

“I hate you so much,” Ryo grumbles as he shoves past both of them to grab a printer and two boxes of ink from the back of the store. “I’m going home for the day.”

“Use a condom!” Jin calls after him.

Home isn’t much better, with Ohkura the gossip whore lingering in the doorway to Ryo’s bedroom because he won’t actually step foot inside. “How long has it been since you’ve been laid, Ryo?” he asks point-blank.

“When was the last time you were too drunk to have any standards?” Ryo shoots back without looking up from his composition notebook.

“Oh, honey.” Ohkura brings his hand to his heart. “ _Please_  tell this man that you want him to bend you over. It pains me to look at you like this.”

“I’m not going to say that,” Ryo says calmly. “And what if I want to bend  _him_  over?”

Ohkura’s laugh is practically a screech, echoing down the hallway as he thankfully leaves Ryo alone and returns to whatever he’d been doing when Ryo came home. As he’s a drag queen stripper by trade, Ryo doesn’t ask many questions about his business.

The words aren’t coming and the Internet is boring, so he scrolls over Kato’s number in his phone a few times before gathering the courage to press ‘send’. It rings and he almost hangs up, but then he remembers that he is not a fourteen-year-old girl and besides, everyone has caller ID these days.

“Hello?” Kato answers.

“Ah, Kato-san?” Ryo says. “It’s Nishikido.”

“Oh, Nishikido-san!” Kato replies, sounding happy to hear from him. “Your timing is perfect. I just got home.”

“Oh really?” Ryo asks. “I have the printer and ink ready to bring over, if you’re available.”

“I am.” Kato clears his throat suddenly, and Ryo waits for him to continue. “Nishikido-san, have you eaten yet?”

As if on cue, Ryo’s stomach growls. “I have not.”

“I was about to put on some curry,” Kato says evenly. “There’s enough for you too, if you’d like to stay for dinner.”

“Sounds delicious,” is Ryo’s response. “I’ll be over in a few.”

He hangs up feeling completely flustered, gives himself a long stare in the bathroom mirror, shoves the ink cartridges into his pockets as he carries the printer out into the living room.

Ohkura’s at his sewing machine, adding sequins to a turquoise bra. He seems to notice Ryo’s hesitance out of his peripheral vision. “Yes?”

“Do you have any condoms?” Ryo asks sheepishly, and Ohkura cheers without missing a stitch.

*

It only takes ten minutes in the presence of Kato Mika-chan for Ryo to remember why he distances his visits with his nieces. She’s cute enough, but she is a bundle of energy and  _screams_  everything she says in her high-pitched little kid voice.

“Who’s this, Papa?” Mika asks four times before Ryo is even all the way in the door.

“Papa’s friend Nishikido-san,” Kato finally says gently, with more patience than Ryo’s ever seen from anyone. Considering he’d blown up over being interrupted last weekend, this is quite a surprise.

“Ryo,” is all he says, nodding when Kato looks at him questioningly. “Please call me Ryo.”

“Ryo-kun,” Kato repeats, then smiles. “I’m Shige, then.”

“Ryo-kun! Ryo-kun!” Mika screeches, and Kato-no,  _Shige_  gives Ryo an apologetic look.

“It’s okay,” he tells him, then kneels down to Mika’s level. “I’m honored to have my name spoken by such a pretty girl.”

Mika giggles and folds her arms sternly. “Don’t be creepy, Ryo-kun.”

“What?” Ryo gasps, eyes widening. “I wasn’t-” He catches Shige hiding a laugh and narrows his eyes as he stands back up, staring at the floor. “I’ll hook up the printer.”

“Ne, Ryo-kun,” Mika says, skipping as she follows him into her bedroom, which is all painted and furnished and Ryo stops short at the sight. Shige had added all kinds of details to the wall in addition to the unicorns and rainbows, and Ryo stares at all four walls like he’s surrounded by an art museum.

A hard poke to the leg reminds him that he’s not alone. “Sorry, Mika-chan, you were saying?”

“You should listen better,” Mika lectures. “Papa doesn’t like people who don’t listen. I was  _saying_  that you should remove the parental controls if you want me to like you. I can’t even access the  _news_. What am I supposed to bring to the playground conversation, huh?”

Ryo blinks as he crawls under the desk to plug in the printer cables. “You talk about the news at the playground?”

“Of course.” Mika sounds exasperated. “A kid has to stay informed.”

“You’ll have to talk to your dad about that,” Ryo calls out over his shoulder. “I can’t change them unless he asks me to.”

“Sure you can,” Mika goes on, moving closer. “If you’re going to be his boyfriend, you want me to like you, right?”

The underside of the desk feels just as hard as it looks, and Ryo groans as he scoots back and cradles his aching head. The next second has Shige in the doorway, surveying the situation and making a sympathetic face at Ryo’s undoubtedly pained expression. “What happened? Are you okay? Do you need some ice?”

“I’ll be all right,” Ryo mutters, giving Mika a side glance. She looks just as innocent as she should, and Ryo decides to keep her question between them. “Mika-chan just startled me, that’s all.”

“Mika-chan, leave Ryo-kun alone while he works,” Shige says, stretching out an arm to lead her out of the room by her hand. “Will it take long? I can start heating up dinner.”

“Just have to install the drivers,” Ryo replies, busying himself with the printer controls to keep from having to look at either of them. “Maybe ten minutes.”

Thankfully they leave, and Ryo finishes inserting the ink cartridges and running test pages. When he returns to the main part of the house, Shige is standing at the stove in a red apron and Mika looks like she’s being swallowed by a bean bag chair as she plays with a handheld device.

“Is that a cell phone?” Ryo asks quietly as he steps into the kitchen.

“Yup,” Shige answers, looking unhappy about it. “Her mother thinks she needs one.”

“So your daughter has a cell phone and you don’t?” Ryo asks.

Shige’s glare is kind of cute, but Ryo bites his lip to keep from showing his amusement. He doesn’t want to anger someone who has access to very hot food. He did that to Massu once and nearly got second-degree burns.

“Your art is really good,” Ryo switches gears, leaning back against an out-of-the-way counter. “Do you ever do standalone pieces?”

“I have,” Shige answers, and his tone is very final. “I don’t really have time for things like that anymore, though.”

“I see.”

Dinner is awkwardly quiet. Ryo’s actually glad for Mika’s presence, because she carries most of the conversation and is overall interesting enough to make Ryo forget how uncomfortable this is. She talks about all of her lessons and her friends and makes Shige choke on his curry when she can’t remember whether she has three or four boyfriends right now.

“Not like  _that_ , Papa,” Mika says. “They are just competing with each other for my affections. It’s how boys usually act towards girls they like. Doesn’t it work the same way between boys?”

This time Ryo chokes, and Shige’s voice is stern. “Mika.”

“What?” Mika asks innocently, then shoves an impressive amount of curry into her mouth.

Ryo chances a glance over to see Shige clap his hand to his forehead. His face looks bright red. Of course, Ryo thinks. He’s  _embarrassed_. Being outed by your daughter in front of the I.T. guy isn’t really an ideal situation. Though, little does he know that the I.T. guy is doing cartwheels (metaphorically) at the knowledge that he actually has a shot.

“Calm down,” Mika tells her father. “He wants to be your boyfriend too, or he wouldn’t have banged his head on the desk when I mentioned it.”

Ryo gasps. “I… that is…”

“Mika, if you’re done eating, please go to your room,” Shige says tonelessly, still staring at his hands.

Mika grins and presents her empty bowl. “Thanks for the food!” she exclaims before scooting off of the chair and racing down the hallway, her pigtails flying behind her.

“Hey, it’s cool,” Ryo says casually, fidgeting with his chopsticks. “Kids say the strangest things, right?”

Shige’s shoulders lift and fall with a rather large sigh, and his face is still tinted pink when he returns to his dinner. “I’m sorry if she made you uncomfortable,” he says. “I shouldn’t have let her stay in there with you.”

Right now Ryo thinks Shige’s more uncomfortable than he’s  _ever_  been, but chooses not to point that out. “Not at all,” he assures him. “I don’t accept third party confessions, anyway. If you want me to be your boyfriend, you’ll have to tell me yourself.”

That gets a laugh out of Shige, and Ryo feels accomplished as that bright smile returns. “I didn’t want her to know about… how I am, at least not yet,” Shige says. “But she has all of these  _questions_ , like why Mama and Papa were never married, and I can’t bring myself to lie to her. I just can’t seem to get through to her that it’s not something openly spoken about.”

“Are you ashamed?” Ryo asks curiously. “You shouldn’t be, you know. It’s nothing to be ashamed about.”

“I know that,” Shige snaps, then sighs again. “Sorry, it’s just. I’m really embarrassed right now. I barely know you, and-”

“I’m gay, too,” Ryo says, and Shige drops his chopsticks. “I don’t look it, but I am. Have been my whole life. Tried a woman once, did nothing for me.”

“Same here, except I got a daughter out of it,” Shige says with a scoff. “I don’t regret it, though. Most people in our positions don’t get to experience the joy of having kids.”

“Yeah.” Ryo smiles at him, and Shige looks away shyly. “So your friend Koyama..?”

Shige’s head shoots up. “What about him? Do you like him?”

“What? No,” Ryo rushes to reply, nearly knocking over his water in the process. “I mean, not like that. Just wondering if he’s like us, too.”

“Not at all,” Shige replies. “I mean, he supports me and my lifestyle, and I don’t think he’s ever muttered a discriminatory word about anyone, but he loves women enough for all three of us. You saw how he fawned over Yuuko-san at the bar.”

“Yuuko-san has a penis,” Ryo says bluntly, and Shige’s jaw drops. “She wears scarves all the time to hide her Adam’s apple.”

“That’s… wow.” Shige blinks a few times. “She’s really convincing. Did she get implants?”

“I don’t know the details,” Ryo answers. “She doesn’t talk about it and we don’t make her. We just accept her how she is, you know? She and Buta have been running that lounge as long as Pi’s been in business next door. It’s our safe place.”

Shige nods. “That sounds nice. I’ll have to go more often – or, you know, whenever Mika spends the weekend with her mom.”

“It would be good to see you there,” Ryo says honestly. “I play better when you’re there.”

The silence that follows is comfortable as both Shige and Ryo finish their curry, and Ryo only jumps a little bit when Mika runs back into the room waving a piece of paper.

“It works!” she’s yelling. “The picture looks great, Ryo-kun. Thanks for bringing the printer tonight!”

“You’re welcome,” Ryo replies, smiling at the grin on the little girl’s face. “I should get going.”

Mika pouts, but Shige just stands up and starts gathering the dishes. “Thank you again for coming by on such short notice.”

“Thank you for feeding me,” Ryo says as he bends to put on his shoes. “I’ll see you.”

The night air is crisp despite being almost summer, and Ryo feels Shige’s eyes on him as he heads to his car and leaves. As he drives home, he thinks about the past couple hours and becomes very aware of the condoms of questionable colors (and maybe flavors) weighing down his back pocket.

He plans on giving them back to Ohkura, because he doesn’t need them. At least not yet.

*

Performing feels different now. It has always felt good before, playing his music for people who actually enjoy it, but now there’s a deeper feeling behind his words, particularly the more heartfelt lyrics. He only has a few love songs – not his style – but the ones he does have are more about the initial meeting and confession than an actual relationship. Ryo thinks he shouldn’t write about things he doesn’t know, and aside from a few failed attempts at forever, he doesn’t have much experience with love.

“Ryo-chan, do you like someone?” Yuuko asks bluntly as she brings Ryo a drink on stage. “Your performance is so emotional tonight.”

“I wonder,” is Ryo’s response, and Yuuko rolls her eyes as she prances back to the bar.

Before he met Shige, Ryo averaged one or two new songs a month. One of the main reasons he doesn’t want to do this professionally is the pressure – he only writes lyrics or music when he’s inspired, and even then they may not make it into a fully composed song. His notebook at home is full of half-stanzas of chords and series of phrases that have no relation to each other, just waiting for homes.

But in the past couple weeks alone, he’s written three entire songs. Only one of them is directly about a relationship, with a “you make me a better person” theme, but for the most part, the lyrics themselves have nothing to do with Shige. Ryo’s mind just feels more opened lately, his creativity flowing over. Maybe there’s a connection between having feelings for someone and being more susceptible to inspiration; Ryo doesn’t know. He never studied music professionally, just took guitar lessons from his neighbor Yasuda as a teenager.

Ryo sings one of his new songs about painting the world and takes a break, swaying back to the bar because he’s a little drunk. It’s late and Yamapi’s already passed out in a booth, a cartoon pig drawn on his face in dry-erase marker courtesy of the chef, but Ryo sees another familiar face at the bar.

“Hey,” Koyama greets him with a lift of his green drink with the pink umbrella. “I really liked that song, but I don’t think I understand the meaning.”

“I probably don’t either,” Ryo tells him, flashing a smile as he climbs onto the stool. “Someone asked me once how I compose my music, and all I could tell them is that I just sit down with my guitar and write.”

Koyama grins. “Shige used to say that about his drawings. It’s a shame he gave it up.”

“Oh?” Ryo prompts, too interested to be polite. “I saw the designs in his daughter’s room and he mentioned he’d done some standalone work-”

“Some standalone work?!” Koyama interrupts him, so loudly that Ryo cringes from the volume. “Ah, sorry, sorry. It’s just, that’s basically the understatement of the century. Shige was an incredibly popular manga artist in university.”

“Really?” Ryo asks. “Has he done anything I would recognize?”

“No, because he never got published,” Koyama says, sounding bitter about it. “He said he wasn’t good enough, his plots weren’t consistent, one excuse after another. Mostly he drew funny stories about uni life and things going on in the media. The other students loved it and gave him a column in the campus paper, but once he had deadlines he claimed it wasn’t fun anymore.”

“I understand his feelings a little,” Ryo says slowly, the awe creeping through his alcohol-induced mind.

Koyama smiles. “I thought you might. You two are a lot alike, aren’t you?”

“I suppose so,” Ryo replies. “I still make music, though. In fact, I’ve been making a lot more of it lately.”

“Shige’s started drawing again,” Koyama says, staring knowingly at Ryo over the pink umbrella. “I catch him doodling when I go to visit him at the library. Only it’s not just doodling – there are full panels with dialogue and  _shading_.” He laughs at Ryo’s undoubtedly confused expression. “Shading is the last thing he would ever do. It had an air of finality, he said.”

“I wonder what he draws about now, as an adult,” Ryo thinks out loud.

“You and me both.” Koyama sighs. “Anyway, I don’t know what you two have going on, but please keep it up. Anything that keeps him drawing again is fully supported by me.”

“We don’t have anything going on,” Ryo says, and it comes out disappointed. As it should. “He hired my company for a job and it’s completed. I haven’t even talked to him since he offered me dinner after my last business visit, which turned out to be quite awkward.”

“Spending time with Shige is usually awkward,” Koyama says. “You get used to it.”

“I’d really like to see him again,” Ryo blurts out, instantly blaming the alcohol, “but I don’t think he’s into me.”

Koyama sets his now empty glass on the bar. “You’re not qualified to say that.”

“Hmm?” Ryo asks.

“I’ve known Shige my whole life,” Koyama tells him. “We grew up across street from each other, and even though I’m three years older, it’s always felt like he’s the one older than me. He’s horrible at expressing himself and doesn’t understand his own feelings half of the time. The only reason he even has a kid is because Shiori-chan challenged him with ‘how do you know you don’t like girls if you’ve never been with one?'”

Ryo snorts. “I’m not that bold,” he admits.

“Look,” Koyama says. “I was there when he called you about the printer. I encouraged him to invite you to dinner. Shige doesn’t do things he doesn’t want to do, Nishikido-san. He may not be able to explain what he’s thinking, but he does know how to say no. He says it to me all the time.”

A grin spreads on Ryo’s face, and this time it’s only a little bit from the booze. “I’m happy.”

“Ryo-chan, I think you’re done for tonight,” Yuuko’s voice drifts over from behind his heavy head. “Koyama-kun, can I get you anything else?”

“Just the beauty of your smiling face,” Koyama replies, and Yuuko giggles. Ryo’s eyes may be playing tricks on him, but he actually thinks Yuuko’s cheeks are tinting pink underneath all of her makeup. “Actually I’ll cash out my tab and get these two home,” Koyama adds.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Yuuko says dismissively. “We usually just dump them next door at their office and set an alarm. Pi-chan had a shower room installed a few years ago for this reason.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Koyama says, and Ryo likes him a lot more now. He must be hiding some muscles in that wiry frame, too, because he hoists the dead-to-the-world Yamapi over his shoulder like it’s nothing and gestures to Ryo. “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Ryo says, bumping into a few things as he follows Koyama out the door. “That guy can’t hold his liquor nearly as well as me.”

Ryo rides in the front seat of Koyama’s car while Yamapi curls up in the back, and they drop Yamapi off first. On the way to Ryo’s place, Koyama chats amiably about his job at an advertising firm and all of the interesting things he sees.

“People can show their true feelings through their work without even intending to,” he’s saying. “I have an exec who indirectly proposed to his girlfriend through one of his ad pitches. The account was for gum, but he focused on concepts like ‘long-lasting’ and his pitch involved a girl chewing the same piece of gum while waiting for her boyfriend to propose.”

“That’s cute,” Ryo says.

“You’re wasted, so I’ll spell it out for you,” Koyama goes on. “You artsy guys have a passion for what you do, right? It’s the same kind of passion people have for each other. With people like you and Shige, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. And usually without words.”

Ryo opens his mouth to respond, but the next thing he notices is sunlight and Ohkura staring down at him in full uniform. His eyeshadow matches the peacock feathers sticking out of his waistband, and Ryo’s not sure what exactly he’s cringing at.

“I don’t understand straight men,” he’s huffing, gathering up his feathers so he can sit on Ryo’s legs. “Why do they even  _bother_  coming to my establishment if they’re going to get all uppity when I dance on them?”

“Too early,” Ryo grumbles, slinging his arm over his face. “My head hurts.”

“Poor baby,” Ohkura says sarcastically. “Get your stank ass in the shower while I make breakfast.”

Ryo grins despite the pain. “You’re the best, Tacchon.”

“Mmhmm. Remember that when you finally find your balls and call Mr. Nice Ass.”

The shower is cleansing for more than just his body, and Ryo makes a run for his room while his hair is still dripping, digging out his composition book and rushing to uncap his pen.

He has lyrics that need to come out.

*

“Your favorite customer is here,” Jin says as he swings into the back room and pulls Ryo’s chair back enough to startle him. “And not that one.”

It’s a credit to how long they’ve worked together that Ryo doesn’t make the effort to jump up and shove his face in a open tower. With Akanishi Jin, you need to pick your battles. Ryo just rebalances his equilibrium and rolls his eyes, knowing fully well who Jin is talking about. “What the fuck does he want? I thought his snooty music store upgraded their systems.”

“Maybe they’re slumming it,” Jin says brightly, clearly pleased with the idea. “Go find out. It’s time for my break.”

“You’re always on break,” Ryo mutters, but pushes his chair back purposely hard enough to bang into Jin’s as he reluctantly stands up.

Ueda Tatsuya looks just like Ryo remembers him, only with shorter hair. “There was an incident with Taguchi,” is all he says, and Ryo just nods. “How are you, Nishikido?”

“I’m all right,” Ryo replies honestly. He doesn’t hate Ueda as much as everyone thinks he does; in fact, he misses arguing with him over his ridiculous technological requirements. And Ueda can give him a run for his snark, which Ryo can’t say for many people. “What brings you here? You know I don’t work on anything Windows 7.”

“It’s not business,” Ueda says crisply, then leans his head down to look at Ryo over his sunglasses. “I believe we have a mutual acquaintance in the form of one Kato Shigeaki.”

“You know Shige?” Ryo asks. His voice cracks a little, but Ueda pretends not to notice.

“I do read,” Ueda says pointedly. “Sometimes I go to the library to get away from the idiots at the store. When you’re the only two people between the ages of twelve and forty, you build a rapport.”

“And this concerns me why?” Ryo folds his arms and stares at Ueda expectantly.

Ueda just smiles. “I caught him drawing something interesting.”

Ryo waits, then shakes his head impatiently. “Are you going to tell me what it was?”

“Nope,” Ueda says. “But being as it led me here, that should tell you something.”

“I hate when you’re vague,” Ryo snaps. “Come out and fucking say what you want to say. You give musicians a bad name.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet, you still think of me as a musician,” Ueda teases, and Ryo fumes. “If anything,  _you_  give musicians a bad name by sitting on your ass at the okama bar instead of making music properly.”

Ryo’s sigh has frustration laced in it. “I’ve told you, I’m not interested-”

“I know, I know, and honestly I don’t care.” Ueda waves his hand dismissively. “I know I don’t want to see your face on any of the CD covers in my store. I already saw it in Kato-kun’s drawing.”

He covers his mouth with his hand so dramatically that it had to be on purpose, but Ryo’s too bewildered to pay much attention to the theatrics. “He was drawing me?”

Ueda shrugs. “He’s pretty good, you know. And you’re recognizable with that horrible mushroom hair.”

“You should talk, porcupine,” Ryo shoots back, and Ueda just laughs. “He  _is_  really good, though.”

“Yeah, and he got so embarrassed when I identified you,” Ueda goes on. “He asked me how I knew you.”

Another eye roll as Ryo has to prompt the question. “And?”

“And I told him we used to hook up.”

“ _What_?!” Ryo yells, loud enough to cause a commotion in the back room that was most likely Jin falling out of his chair. “I’ve never even touched you, you freak!”

Ueda’s laughing so hard that he’s clutching his stomach, flicking a tear from his eye as he straightens up and gives Ryo a sympathetic look. “Wow, you really like him! Of course I’m  _kidding_. I would never compromise my reputation like that.”

Ryo’s still regaining control of his breathing, leaning onto the closest counter for support. “I hope Taguchi sets your store on fire.”

“Got new emergency sprinklers installed,” Ueda replies. “Though he’s not much of a pyro anymore. Now knives are his toy of choice.”

Ryo nods. “Explains the hair.”

“Look, I’ve known you for a long time, unfortunately,” Ueda says. “And that whole time I’ve  _never_  seen anyone this stupid about you as Kato obviously is, even if he wouldn’t admit it. I have no idea what the guy sees in you, but you should go get him before he finds his right mind.”

Ryo sighs again. “Why do you even care?”

Now Ueda’s expression hardens. “If you have a chance to be happy, you should take it. Idiot.”

“Get out,” Ryo barks.

Huffing, Ueda turns on his heel and strides towards the exit.

“Hey,” Ryo calls after him, and Ueda stops. “Thanks.”

Ueda waves a finger in the air as he makes a grand exit, and Ryo lets out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding in.

“Dude,” Jin says, rolling his chair into the doorway to the back area. “I think he’s jealous.”

“Ew.” Ryo tries not to throw up in the back of his mouth. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“You should see if Kato-san needs an  _upgrade_ ,” Jin says pointedly, making a grotesque motion with his tongue. “Give him some more  _RAM_  or an external  _hard_  drive-”

“I’m going to lunch!” Ryo yells needlessly, because Yamapi’s not even here today. He walks out the door while Jin’s still going on about parallel cables and other technological euphemisms that aren’t funny.

He goes straight to the library.

*

To say that Shige is surprised to see him is an understatement. If Ryo wasn’t focused on his own courage, he would have been amused at the way Shige almost knocked over his coffee and rushed to cover up whatever he’d been sketching.

“Let me see it,” Ryo says before he loses his nerve.

Shige darts his eyes to the side before reluctantly lifting them to Ryo. “Please keep your voice down. This is a library.”

He looks so serious that Ryo almost bursts out laughing, but instead he just nods in apology and leans over the desk. “Ueda said you were drawing me. Let me see it.”

“I’m embarrassed,” Shige hisses. “You weren’t supposed to find out.”

Ryo leans on his elbows and looks up at Shige through his bangs. “Is it dirty?”

“What?  _No_!” Shige exclaims, and Ryo can’t help but grin at how cute he is right now. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s of me,” Ryo points out, then stares at his hands. “Nobody’s ever drawn me before. I really want to see it.”

Shige sighs. “Fine.”

He slides the pieces of paper out from under a book and everything else seems to stop. The clock ticking on the wall, his breath, and all sense of motion halts as Ryo’s eyes scan the manga panels. It’s definitely him, in cartoon form anyway, only he’s wearing a eyemask and striped shirt. He looks like a burglar, which he comes to learn is because he  _is_  one, hopping from building to building stealing money and jewelry and electronics – there’s a particularly funny frame where he’s carrying a big screen TV and he snorts.

“I don’t even know where that came from-” Shige’s saying.

“Shh,” Ryo cuts him off, and keeps reading. Cartoon Ryo seems to be looking for something specific, which he doesn’t find in any of his break-ins, and he progressively gets sadder throughout the story. The last page isn’t all the way finished, but he can see his own grin sketched in the final frame. “What’s in the last vault?”

“You’re going to laugh at me,” Shige says, and Ryo looks up to find him bright red and shrinking away.

“I promise I won’t,” Ryo tells him seriously.

Shige narrows his eyes “You say that, and you still will.”

“Draw it then,” Ryo suggests, pushing the paper back to him and waiting expectantly.

He thinks about what Koyama had said about Shige not doing things he doesn’t want to do as Shige reluctantly picks up the pencil with his left hand and picks up where he left off. He draws with quick, light movements like it’s second nature and Ryo’s mesmerized by the process, watching the gray streaks appear on the paper before he realizes what they’re forming.

In the last vault is a heart. Ryo’s mouth goes dry and laughing is the last thing on his mind. He thinks of gum and wedding proposals and how Shige has basically made a story out of Ryo stealing his heart.

“I told you it was stupid,” Shige mumbles, and Ryo grabs his hand so fast that the pencil is knocked to the floor. They both stare at it until Ryo clears his throat.

What comes out next aren’t spoken words. A melody he’s composing on the spot, because all he has are lyrics and none of it matters because this is probably the only time he’ll sing it. It’s not even anything romantic, a silly tune about a stray cat that won’t leave him alone, demanding attention until Ryo reluctantly takes it home, but Ryo doesn’t get very far before Shige has dropped his hand and grabbed him by both arms.

“Ryo-kun, this is a library!” Shige’s hissing into his face, and Ryo falls silent at the incredulity shining in his eyes. Ryo can’t tell if he’s annoyed or touched or confused, just that he’s in awe from it.

So he kisses him.

Shige’s gasp leads him to think this was a bad judgment call, but then his hands are clutching onto Ryo’s arms and he’s kissing back, tilting his head and pressing their lips together so lightly that it drives Ryo crazy.

It’s Shige who pulls away first, long before Ryo would have liked, and his face is even pinker now. “You have to leave.”

“What?” Ryo asks, his heart hurting.

“You have to leave before I get in trouble,” Shige whispers, a little breathless. “I have my daughter until Saturday – can we meet for dinner then?”

“Absolutely,” Ryo replies, nodding so hard that he feels like his head is going to detach from his neck and roll right onto the floor. “I’d cook for you at my place, but my roommate is a little eccentric and Saturday night is cosplay night where he works.”

Shige looks like he wants to ask, then thinks better of it. “We can go out. Wherever. The food isn’t what’s important.”

“No it’s not,” Ryo agrees. “I should get back to work. I left Jin by himself.”

“Ryo,” Shige calls after him, and Ryo turns around to see Shige pointing at his vaulted heart. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“Don’t run away,” Ryo replies, and Shige offers a sheepish smile.

There’s a skip in his step all the way back to the store.

*

“If you start writing sappy love songs, I’m firing you,” Yuuko says seriously as she side-eyes Shige. “I like you better when you’re single.”

“Sorry?” Shige replies, cowering under Yuuko’s glare until she turns around and storms into the kitchen, her ponytail flipping angrily from side to side.

“She says that like she pays me,” Ryo mutters, then flashes a smile toward his date. “Don’t worry about her. She likes to think we all belong to her.”

“I’d belong to her,” Koyama says dreamily from the next stool.

Ryo glances at Shige, who bites his lip. “You didn’t…”

Shige shakes his head.

Sighing, Ryo starts to open his mouth, but Yamapi gets to Koyama first. Slinging an arm around his shoulders, Yamapi leans in to drunkenly whisper into Koyama’s ear, and both Ryo and Shige watch the gradual progression of Koyama’s face through several layers of devastation.

Then Yamapi claps him on the back and laughs, proceeding to twirl around the bar because he’s drunk. Shige offers Koyama a sympathetic look as he pats his friend on the back. “Sometimes things are too good to be true, Kei.”

“I can’t believe she’s with that cook,” Koyama says flatly. “His clothes are  _blinding_. How does she stand him?”

Ryo stops his jaw from dropping at the last second, and thankfully Shige distracts him with a bright smile. “I’ve been drawing a lot more lately,” he tells Ryo. “I have you to thank for that, I guess.”

“I know what you mean,” Ryo replies, reaching for Shige’s hand under the bar. “Though I will probably never write sappy love songs. Not my style.”

“I’m not about to draw shoujo manga either,” Shige says with a laugh. “You know, you’re the only person who hasn’t pushed me to get published.”

Ryo leans his elbow on the bar and stares into Shige’s eyes. “I could say the same thing about you not pushing me to get signed.”

“It’s better this way, isn’t it?” Shige asks. “No pressure, all for fun. I don’t completely hate my day job.”

“Me neither,” Ryo replies, thumbing towards where Yamapi is dancing by himself to bad jukebox songs. “It helps that my boss is an idiot.”

“Careers are overrated,” Shige says.

“ _Love_  is overrated,” Koyama grumbles as he throws back the rest of his drink.

As Yuuko starts crooning into the microphone, Massu leans expressionless against the wall to watch her, Yamapi dances with the lamp shaped like a pair of legs and fishnets, and Shige squeezes Ryo’s hand while smiling for only him, Ryo respectfully disagrees.


End file.
